absurd notion

There are split second chronos from the 1920s still working fine with regular servicing. The mechanisms do not wear out after a few years, But here is the deal. The more expensive chronographs have vertical column wheel mechanisms which are aesthetically pleasing to look at in action. Because the gears are made a certain way so they will mesh the teeth are ground at an angel and with constant use will wear down. Thus, the warning from PP in its manual not to leave the chronograph running 24/7. Regular short timing is no an issue. Rolex used a horizontal assembly which is hidden from view even with a display back but the teeth are ground even, thus a Rolex and other similar designs can run 24/7 without wearing down the gear teeth. There is an interesting article on this in Watch Time which just came out. Bottom line is the design which affords the great view of the movement is no good for long timing periods. That is why the counter is only 30 minutes and not 12 hours as is on the Rolex. Neither is better, just depends on what you are looking for in a chronometer.

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The practical side of luxury watches...

By: nycbrose : January 24th, 2014-18:25

Let's all pretend for a minute that Bill Gates needed a split second chronograph to time different legs of his daughter's horse races... If he's using the 5204 every day, will the mechanisms actually last 3-5 years or are all these complications just a no...

Well, in my small watch friend world...

By: KIH : January 24th, 2014-20:03

.. nobody actually uses double split or rarttrapante for daily use... So, I can't answer. Maybe Patek itself is the best position to answer that? I am sure 5204s come out after very rigorous durability tests..... Sorry for not being too helpful... I wish ...

Let me respond to your question based on an

By: whit : January 25th, 2014-02:21

experience one of my clients had with his 3970 and maybe that will give some insight. He wore the watch with the chrono running constantly because he preferred to see the centered sweep moving like in his other non-chrono watches, then the watch stopped. ...

PP is not a high performing sports watch brand.

By: Rico_W : January 25th, 2014-05:43

If Bill uses his split second chrono everyday for half an hour there will be no problem in the next 3 to 5 years. But if he lets it run the whole day it will eventually stop, and you might will have a problem. You have to look at it this way Patek is made...

The daughter´s horses won´t have races ...

By: small-luxury-world : January 26th, 2014-06:19

24/7 and not at all over long periods like a month, a year ... . So, I don´t see any problem. If Bill likes to track his own "Military Horse Racing" (if at all he is doing something like this) I could imagine difficulties :-) Oliver

absurd notion

By: watch-er : January 26th, 2014-15:05